SlateStone Wealth LLC Grows Holdings in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX)

SlateStone Wealth LLC grew its stake in The TJX Companies, Inc. (NYSE:TJX) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 54,916 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock after buying an additional 829 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC’s holdings in TJX Companies were worth $5,152,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. grew its position in TJX Companies by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 5,846 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $548,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Alhambra Investment Management LLC now owns 5,433 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $510,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners boosted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 5,623 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $528,000 after acquiring an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA boosted its holdings in shares of TJX Companies by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Insight Advisors LLC PA now owns 3,757 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock valued at $352,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Business Financial Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of TJX Companies by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. First Business Financial Services Inc. now owns 18,177 shares of the apparel and home fashions retailer’s stock worth $1,616,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 91.09% of the company’s stock.

TJX Companies Trading Up 0.4 %

TJX stock opened at $94.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $97.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $93.79. The TJX Companies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.65 and a fifty-two week high of $102.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market cap of $107.07 billion, a PE ratio of 24.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.86.

TJX Companies (NYSE:TJX) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The apparel and home fashions retailer reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.10. TJX Companies had a net margin of 8.25% and a return on equity of 64.18%. The firm had revenue of $16.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.20 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. TJX Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The TJX Companies, Inc. will post 4.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

TJX Companies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 6th. Investors of record on Thursday, May 16th will be issued a $0.375 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 15th. This is a positive change from TJX Companies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.33. This represents a $1.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. TJX Companies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.46%.

TJX Companies declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 28th that permits the company to buyback $2.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the apparel and home fashions retailer to repurchase up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on TJX. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $110.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Redburn Atlantic cut shares of TJX Companies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $100.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Monday, February 5th. Telsey Advisory Group restated an “outperform” rating and set a $105.00 target price on shares of TJX Companies in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Finally, UBS Group raised their target price on shares of TJX Companies from $95.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, TJX Companies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $102.19.

Insider Activity at TJX Companies

In related news, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total value of $1,979,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other TJX Companies news, EVP Louise Greenlees sold 2,694 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $98.83, for a total transaction of $266,248.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 50,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,968,480.59. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Ernie Herrman sold 20,000 shares of TJX Companies stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $98.98, for a total transaction of $1,979,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 515,801 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,053,982.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.13% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About TJX Companies

The TJX Companies, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an off-price apparel and home fashions retailer in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Australia. It operates through four segments: Marmaxx, HomeGoods, TJX Canada, and TJX International. The company sells family apparel, including footwear and accessories; home fashions, such as home basics, furniture, rugs, lighting products, giftware, soft home products, decorative accessories, tabletop, and cookware, as well as expanded pet, and gourmet food departments; jewelry and accessories; and other merchandise.